The first week of the NFL preseason is in the books. Rookie quarterbacks Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson and Will Levis all made their debuts. We also saw Derek Carr in a Saints uniform after nine years with the Raiders.
Preseason Week 1 Fantasy Football Takeaways: First Look at the Rookies
Here are the biggest observations from the weekend and what we learned from each game.
Texans at Patriots: C.J. Stroud may struggle as a rookie, but this game means nothing.
Look, it's perfectly reasonable to think Stroud will struggle as a rookie quarterback on a team that has won a grand total of 10 games over the past three years. However, it's not logical to draw such a conclusion because he threw an ugly interception to Jalen Mills on third-and-22.
Vikings at Seahawks: Don’t get too excited about Jalen Reagor in Minnesota’s offense.
Reagor was famously taken one pick ahead of Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson, also known as the reigning Offensive Player of the Year. Now with Minnesota, Reagor posted a team-best four catches for 55 yards in a 24–13 loss to the Seahawks. Nice game, but it’s a footnote.
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Packers at Bengals: Jordan Love can’t take much from this outing.
Love was decent in the game, going 7-of-10 for 46 yards and a touchdown, with the scoring strike being a nice touch pass to Romeo Doubs. However, Cincinnati was playing almost exclusively backups. We learned that Love can complete passes for short yardage against second-teamers. That’s it.
Giants at Lions: Maurice Alexander is giving himself a chance to make the 53-man roster.
So many roster spots aren’t won in the preseason on offense and defense, but on special teams. Against the Giants on Friday night, the Lions’ rookie receiver caught only one pass for seven yards. Yet in the return game, Alexander gave Detroit its first touchdown of the night with a 95-yard punt return touchdown, which featured two pirouettes. That’s the way to make a roster decision difficult.
Falcons at Dolphins: If Tua Tagovailoa gets hurt again, the Dolphins will be up the creek.
Every year, a team with real aspirations of being a contender doesn’t shore up the backup quarterback position and regrets it. Miami hopes to avoid being that squad, but the situation behind Tagovailoa is a mess. Against an Atlanta defense that dressed nobody of note, Skylar Thompson and Mike White combined for as many points as they did interceptions … three.
Commanders at Browns: Eric Bieniemy’s style had a mixed review Friday.
Bieniemy has been getting heat for his abrasive coaching style, and on Friday, second-year quarterback Sam Howell and the first-team offense had a mixed day. They punted, took a safety and scored a touchdown on three drives against Cleveland. With the Browns playing some defensive starters, Washington scored a touchdown on its final drive, while Howell went 9-of-12 for 77 yards and a touchdown. Not great. Not terrible. Let’s not panic.
Steelers at Buccaneers: The battle for starting under center in Tampa Bay might be over.
The Bucs can pretend Kyle Trask is still fighting for the job, but Baker Mayfield started the first preseason game and was nearly flawless. The well-traveled veteran went 8-of-9 for 63 yards and a score in Tampa Bay’s 27–17 loss to Pittsburgh. Even against a unit of mostly backups, Mayfield did enough to make Trask’s task a tall one.
Broncos at Cardinals: Sean Payton is going to earn that big contract.
Payton watched as his Broncos played their starters far more than the Cardinals did, and still lost 18–17 to what might be the league’s worst team. More worrisome was quarterback Russell Wilson going 4-of-9 for 45 yards until his final drive against backups. Both Wilson and the offensive line were disasters.
Colts at Bills: Round 1 goes to Gardner Minshew.
Throughout the summer, rookie Anthony Richardson and veteran Gardner Minshew have rotated starter reps. On Saturday in Buffalo, Richardson got the nod and threw one hurried interception, while also making a few dazzling plays. Minshew was perfect in relief, going 6-of-6 for 72 yards. Notably, both faced the Bills’ backups. Does it mean Minshew is now the front-runner? No, but he remains in the conversation.
Jets at Panthers: Bryce Young got pummeled in his first action.
Look, teams don’t prepare for opponents in the preseason. They don’t truly worry about winning and losing. But they do care about their quarterback getting hammered all afternoon. On Saturday, Young played his first NFL snaps, and the No. 1 pick went 4-of-6 for 21 yards while being sacked once and hit on multiple other attempts. It’s not an overreaction to say Carolina has to fix that issue immediately.
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Jaguars at Cowboys: Deuce Vaughn continues to look like a player.
Throughout camp, Dallas has seen Vaughn slice through the defense with nasty jukes and excellent speed. He lasted until the sixth round largely because of his diminutive stature, at 5'6" and 176 pounds. However, in his first preseason action, the Kansas State product carried eight times for 50 yards and a score. With Tony Pollard taking over the starting role, look for Vaughn to be a dangerous change-of-pace back behind him.
Titans at Bears: Stats can lie. Just ask Justin Fields.
All week, we’re going to hear about how Fields torched the Titans, throwing for 129 yards and two touchdowns on three attempts. Of course, those numbers are nonsense and should be credited almost completely to his receivers. While Fields may be fantastic this season, Saturday’s action against Tennessee showed nothing. He threw each pass behind the line of scrimmage. The results were amazing, but it’s nothing to go wild over.
Eagles at Ravens: Baltimore is the ’90s Bulls of the preseason.
Let’s not force an observation here. We could have gone with Jalen Carter getting a quarterback hit in two snaps, but that’s too small of a sample size to matter, even in August. Instead, let’s talk about how the Ravens have somehow won 24 consecutive exhibition games. What does it mean? Nothing, but it’s incredible regardless.
Chargers at Rams: Quentin Johnston had an uneven debut.
The Chargers’ first-round receiver was a central figure Saturday night with most starters resting for both sides. Johnston dropped two passes—though one was a very tough grab on a deep ball while well covered—but also snagged an eight-yard touchdown between two defenders. The size and speed are there. Don’t worry about the drops just yet. Ja’Marr Chase dropped everything in sight in his first preseason, and things turned out O.K.
Chiefs at Saints: A.T. Perry might be a sleeper worth watching.
A sixth-round pick out of Wake Forest, Perry was an afterthought for most coming out of the draft. However, in his first pro action, Perry played early and often, leading all receivers with six catches while also notching a team-high 70 yards. Perry caught a touchdown as well, beating Chiefs’ corner and 2022 first-round pick Trent McDuffie.
Going into the summer, O’Connell was third on the Raiders’ quarterback depth chart, behind Jimmy Garoppolo and Brian Hoyer. While that will likely remain the situation, the rookie fourth-rounder out of Purdue made a strong impression, even against the 49ers’ backups. O’Connell hit on 15 of 18 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown, showcasing poise and accuracy. Something to watch as a developmental prospect for the future.
